(CNN) – White House national security adviser Susan Rice defended the Obama administration's decision to exchange Guantanamo detainees for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, amid criticism that the United States negotiated with terrorists in the process.

She also said the “acute urgency” of Bergdahl’s health condition justified President Obama’s not notifying Congress beforehand that Bergdahl was being swapped for five Taliban detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

(CNN) - Congressional chairmen of the House and Senate veterans affairs committees are still backing embattled VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, for now, amid a growing chorus of lawmakers calling for his resignation over the scandal that's rocked the agency.

Rep. Jeff Miller, a Republican from Florida and chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, told CNN's Candy Crowley on Sunday that the issues with the VA are "much larger than the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs."

On CNN's "State of the Union with Candy Crowley," Gov. Deval Patrick, D-Massachusetts, reflects on the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, which happened 60 years ago this weekend.

"I remember a friend of mine describing Brown versus Board of Education as being the example of sending the kids in to do what the adults wouldn't do. The adults wouldn't live together, wouldn't integrate the neighborhoods so we sent the kids in to integrate the schools.FULL POST

(CNN) - As he considers another run for the White House, Rick Santorum is reaching out to working-class voters, bucking the GOP on the minimum wage and touting his new book in hopes of rebranding the Republican Party.

(CNN) - Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said Republicans are digging up the issue of the 2012 attack in Benghazi to drive turnout this election year.

Schultz, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, told CNN's Candy Crowley on Sunday that as the issue of health care fails rile up their base, House Republicans are refocusing their attention on the assault that left four Americans dead, including the ambassador to Libya.

(CNN) - President Barack Obama's sweep through Asia has been peppered with one international crisis after another and has left critics questioning whether the United States is losing its footing abroad.

Noting the ongoing mess in Syria, Russia's power stance on the border of Ukraine, and the breakdown of progress toward an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, CNN's Candy Crowley asked lawmakers and White House officials on Sunday - where does the United States stand?

(CNN) – Over 50 years after Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, the issue of race is back in the political headlines, after comments from Attorney General Eric Holder and events marking the anniversary of the law’s passage renewed the dialogue over race relations in the 21st century.

Rep. Steve Israel, D-New York, said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" that "not all" of his GOP colleagues are racist but "the Republican base does have elements that are animated by racism."